Peccadilloes in Nippon and in Nipponese with a Quixotic Perspective. Coming at you from Yokohama, near Tokyo.

March 9, 2012

Why Dost Arnold the Negger of Schwarze Say Chichinbuibui?

Because that is what you say in Japanese instead of abracadabra. Video insanity:

(visit the original post if you can't see the vid) Alright, he actually mispronounced it on purpose (a first in foreign celebrity CMs) to evoke the product name and cast a spell on your wallet.

What is that phrase all about? Well if you scrape your knee, your Japanese mom will say ちちんぷいぷい、痛いの痛いの、飛んでけ Pain, pain, go away come again another day. She is invoking an ancient imperial spell! And she is Japanese, which may come to you as a shock unless that was already her ethnicity in which case business as usual, you Asianoid (is my fake word offensive? I wanna be Asianoidish... or Ahnoldish).

As I said, it can be used as a generic magical phrase, but some think it originates with the wet-nurse* of one of those Tokugawa dudes, who said to her young shogunling, "知仁武勇は御代の御宝". And 知仁武勇 is pronounced ちじんぶゆう－ (I don't know why Wikipedia put that bar after a う, but let's just roll with it) which got mumbled enough to change euphonically. The phrase means "wisdom and military might are the treasure of our fine imperial house, so shut up and go to sleep".

Others think it comes from an old Buddhist word, 七里結界 (shichiri keikkai) which seems to be the establishing of 7 ri's† between you and the worldly world mcworld. Or really wanting to get away from people you hate (no really that is the second definition; I look all this crap up).

BTW, abracadabra, presto-chango and the like are called おまじない in Japanese. ♪The more you chant!♪
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*funny thing, wet-nurse is pronounced mama in Japanese. Well, among other things and probably not properly, but still.